


Play Date

by NobodyKnowsWhoIAM



Series: Max [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Anxiety, Breathing Exercises, Diapers, Dummy controller, Gen, Indoor Playgrounds, Non-Sexual Age Play, Overstimulation, Pacifier - Freeform, Pizza, Playing video games with toddler, Potty Time, Sick Character, Sticker Charts, Toddler, blanket, play dates, pull-ups
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:01:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23587297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NobodyKnowsWhoIAM/pseuds/NobodyKnowsWhoIAM
Summary: Daddy got sick on Play Date day. Uncle Clint steps in to save the day.
Relationships: Daddy & Max, Daddy & Uncle Clint, Max & Clea, Uncle Clint & Mandy, Uncle Clint & Max
Series: Max [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697317
Kudos: 23





	Play Date

Clint was sitting on the couch playing video games when he heard socked feet shuffling down the hall. He shot a quick glance over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of Max peeking around the corner into the living. Clint smiled to himself and pretended that he hadn’t seen anything, returning most of his attention to the TV screen in front of him.

Sure enough, a couple of seconds later, his nephew belly flopped onto the couch beside him. “Unca Tint! I scawe you!” the little boy giggled.

Clint paused his game and set his controller on the coffee table in front of him before moving in to tickle the squirming boy. “You sure did, Maxie! Made me jump and I almost lost a life on my game!”

Max stopped squirming and sat up quickly, grabbing for his pacifier which had fallen out during the tickling. “I maked you lose?” His lips started trembling. “Sorry, Uncle Clint. I didn’t mean to!”

Clint pulled the boy towards himself and wrapped his arm around the little shoulders. “You didn’t make me lose, I said almost! My skills are too great to lose a life that easily!” He dropped a light kiss on the shaggy brown head and gave the boy a slight squeeze. “Do you want to play with me, Maxie?”

Max quickly popped his pacifier in his mouth while nodding enthusiastically. Clint reached into the basket under the coffee table and pulled out a second wireless controller, subtly making sure it was the one without batteries in it. Many a game level had been lost because Max had accidentally been given the wrong controller. “Here you go, you’re the green guy okay?” Clint unpaused the game and both boys moved quickly through the level. Clint switched between characters as needed, but always made sure to praise Max’s skills when the green character accomplished something. It was a nice way to spend a later Saturday morning.

After two levels had been cleared, Clint realized he had seen or heard anything from his brother since Max had gone for his morning rest time. (It wasn’t a nap time because getting Max to willingly go for one nap in the afternoon was a struggle, two naps a day would be impossible. The boy just had to have some quiet time in his room and if he fell asleep on his own, it was a minor miracle.) “Hey, Maxie? Where’s your daddy at?”

Max was way too focused on the characters jumping across the screen and uselessly pushing buttons to pay attention to his uncle’s question, so he just shrugged his shoulders and hoped that was the right answer. He groaned and flopped his head backwards when Uncle Clint paused the game in response.  
“Did Daddy tell you rest time was over?”

“Yeth. Pway ‘gain?” Max showed his uncle his big pleading eyes and sucked hard on his pacifier.

“In a little bit, Buddy. Did Daddy change your diaper?”

“No nee’, Tint! Pway, pweeeeese?”

“Good job, Maxie. I’m proud of you for not needing a diaper change!” They were trying to phase out diapers during the day and switch to a more wardrobe friendly pull-up style. Max hadn’t been a huge fan of the attempt at first, but as he got more praise for his dry diapers he was able to be more excited about the process. “Did you get a sticker?”

Max froze and his pacifier dropped out of his mouth. “Daddy forgot, Uncle Clint! He forgot my sticker! We need to put a sticker on! Come on, Uncle Clint!” The boy dropped his controller onto the couch and stood up to pull on his uncle’s arm. “Come on! Come on! Need sticker!”

Clint chuckled before turning off his controller and the TV. “Okay, Maxie, okay. We’ll go put on a sticker. Don’t pull my arm off, Bud. It’d make it hard to get the stickers down.”

The two walked into the kitchen where Clint grabbed the prize basket off the top of the fridge. He handed the sticker sheet to Max and let the boy pick which one to place on his chart. While he watched to make sure that the sticker ended up on the paper and not on the fridge, he asked Max again about where his daddy was.

After carefully placing his chosen sticker, a shiny tiger one, on the next empty square, Max turned to his uncle and gave him a hug, cuddling in close. “Daddy said to find Uncle Clint. He had to potty. I find you, Uncle Clint. And I scare you!” The boy giggled at this last part, nuzzling in closer to Clint.

“Yeah, you did.” He ruffled the little boy’s hair and cocked his head when he heard a door open and close in the hallway. His brother slowly shuffled into the kitchen. “Whoa. You don’t look so good. Like, more so than normal.”

His older brother grimaced at him and his attempted humor before moving to the cabinet by the sink to grab a cup. He filled it with water, took a drink and swished it back and forth in his mouth before spitting it into the sink. “Ha. Ha. Breakfast revisited me. It was not a happy meeting.”

Max perked up from his uncle’s arms. “Breakfast? We eat again? Pancakes. Yum! My favorite.” The boy grinned at the two older males, not noticing his daddy’s face getting greener.

Clint stepped back from his brother, not releasing Max from his arms. “You might want to go lay down or something, take your temperature. I’ll bring you the bucket and some fluids in a minute.”

Max struggled to get out of the hug, not liking being pulled around because of it. “Bucket? Why Daddy need the bucket? Is Daddy sick, Uncle Clint? Daddy, are you sick?” Max’s hand started slipping from their spots on Clint’s waist, as tears started to well in his eyes. “Daddy, you can’t be sick! You not sick today! You promised!” Clint snagged the little boy’s hands and interlaced their fingers, allowing Max to squeeze his fingers.

“I know, Maxie, I know. I’m sorry. I wasn’t planning on getting sick today. We’ll just have to go some other time.”

“Go where?” Clint asked, grimacing a little at how hard Max was squeezing. This little boy was strong!

“There’s a play date scheduled at the indoor playground trampoline place. Max was looking forward to going and playing with some friends. We’ll go to the next one. Do you mind making lunch and watching him this afternoon. Maybe I can sleep this off.”

Clint watched as his brother stumbled his way from the kitchen towards the hallway leading to the bedrooms. He looked down at the boy squeezing his hands and trying not to cry. Clint heaved a sigh. “I’ll take him.”

Max spun around to face Clint, a smile growing on his face. “You take me to play, Uncle Clint? See all my friends? Please?” He spun back around to face his daddy who had stopped in the hall and leaned against a wall. “Daddy! Uncle Clint take me! We still go play! You sleep and feel better and go next time, okay?”

“Clint, you don’t have to, I know it’s not really your scene.”

“Yeah. Could you say no to this face?” He gestured toward Max. “You pay for the pizza for lunch and one night free, no questions asked, and we’ll be square.”

“I’m not sure about no questions asked, but square deal. Grab some money out of my wallet on the counter. Maxie. Max. Look at me. Uncle Clint can take me, but you better be on your best behavior.” The little boy nodded furiously. “Uncle Clint can and will bring you home if you can’t follow the rules, do you understand? If he has to bring you home early because you got in trouble, you won’t be able to go to the next one.”

“Yes, Daddy. I understand. Follow the rules or no more play time.”

“That’s right, Baby. Have fun with your friends and Uncle Clint. Why don’t you go to your room and find your jacket and shoes, okay?”

Max released Clint’s fingers and took off for his room. “Walk in the house, Maxie!” both men said, getting a huff, but slower steps in response.

“Thanks for taking him, Clint. I appreciate it. He’s going to be overstimulated when you first get there. Keep track of his hands. Make sure they-”

“Stay out of his diaper. I know. This might be my first Play Date, but it’s not my first time taking Max somewhere. Now do you have any actual useful advice?”

“Take the pacifier on the clip. Should be in his bag. Stay where he can see you because he’ll be super nervous at first and won’t play where he does have you in his line of sight. Use wipes to clean both your hands before you eat lunch and ask him about going potty regularly. Do you mind helping him into a pullup? I wasn’t able to get that far before I needed to get to the bathroom. I can do it, if you want.”

“No, it’s okay. You go lay down. I got this. You so owe me though.” Clint walked with his brother down the hall, stopping when they got to the master bedroom. “Hey,” he said as his older brother opened the door to his room. “Has anyone told you recently that you are such a dad. Don’t think I didn’t hear you tell me to wash my hands before eating lunch. I’m not even your kid,” Clint teased.

His brother smiled at him and said “Yeah, you are kid,” before shutting the door, leaving Clint blushing and blinking in the hallway.

He was snapped out of his daze by his name being called from the room across the hall. “I’m coming, Maxie. Just hold your horses!”

\---------------------------------------------------

After calming down Max, who was distressed by the fact that he didn’t have any horses to hold, Clint was able to get them out of the house and in the car within 30 minutes. Clint was pretty proud of his time, as he had experienced his brother taking at least an hour to finally make it out of the house with Max and necessary accessories in tow. It probably made it easier that this was a Play Date and that experience was for a doctor’s visit.

They pulled into the parking lot of the indoor playground after a quick 20 minute drive. Max was practically vibrating in his seat the entire way and couldn’t stop talking about all the exciting things he was going to do and who he was going to play with. Clint had nodded at the appropriate times and responded verbally after every enthusiastic “Uncle Clint!” with equal enthusiasm. The boy almost bounced out of his seat when released. Clint snagged the sleeve of his t-shirt and had the boy hook his fingers into the pocket on Clint’s shorts. After ensuring the excited child wouldn’t accidentally pants him, Clint reached back into the car to grab Max’s book bag of supplies. He unzipped the bag and pulled out the pacifier attached to the clip.

Clint got on eye level with Max to make sure he had the boy's attention and fastened the clip to the boy’s shirt. “Okay Maxie, we’re about to go in and have some fun but we have some rules first. You’re wearing a pull-up right now, and we want to keep it dry to get another sticker so I’m going to be asking you about the potty. If you need to go, you leave what you are doing and then we’ll come right back to it okay?”

The little boy caught the pacifier that was bouncing against his torso and slipped it into his mouth before nodding. “Otay, Unca Tint. Go potty, then pway.” He grabbed Clint’s hand and started to pull toward the entrance.

“Hold on there, Maxie. Got a couple more things you need to tell me before we can go. What’s the rule for playing with other people?”

Max sighed, slumped his shoulders, and pulled his pacifier out of his mouth. “We gotta share, Uncle Clint. Unless it’s a drink, or a pacifier, or a blanket.” He gasped and looked up with wide eyes. “Uncle Clint! I forgot blanket! We gotta go back and get it!”

Clint just smiled and pulled a corner of the beloved blanket out of the bag. “I remembered to bring it for you, but let’s leave it in here so it doesn’t get lost. Good job remembering that rule. What about the one for when there’s big feelings?”

Max grabbed the corner of his blanket and rubbed it against his cheek before carefully putting it back in the bag. “Big feelings, big person!” he chanted.

“You’re right again, smart boy. If you have big feelings come find me and I’ll help you out. Now, Sir Max, are you ready to embark on a great adventure?”

Max laughed and replaced his pacifier. “ ‘Venture, Unca Tint! ‘Venture!”

The laughter and smiles only lasted until the two got past the sign in and into the play-place. Max took one look at the other children running around and laughing and ducked behind his uncle, breath hitching. Clint had expected this and led the boy over to a bench off to the side. He set the boy in his lap, chest to chest, tucked the smaller head against his neck, and covered Max’s ears with his hands. Max tucked his arms under his body and leaned hard against his uncle. Clint hummed a random song, and waited for Max to acclimate and reemerge on his own.

Eventually, Max pulled his head back from his uncle’s neck and blinked slowly. Clint slowly pulled his hands off the boy’s ears. He jumped slightly when he felt movement against his stomach. “Maxie, are your hands in your pull-up right now?” he asked softly.

The boy nodded but continued squeezing. “Too big, Unca Tint. Too big,” he whispered.

“Okay. Thank you for telling me, but you need to move your hands, Maxie. Private time only, remember. We’ll get your hands cleaned up and then we can do some mountain breaths.” Clint rifled through the bag sitting next to him until he found the package of wipes. He took a couple and gently removed Max’s hands from his pull-up, wiping them off one at a time.

Max squirmed until his back was to Clint and held his hand with fingers spread in front of him. The two breathed together as Clint carefully traced up and down the sides of the smaller fingers. When Max’s breaths were more regulated, Clint took the boy’s hands in his and they watched the other kids play for a minute.

“What do you think looks like the most fun, Maxie?” Clint asked the boy, trying to get him excited again about his playtime.

Max just shrugged and sucked hard on his pacifier, squeezing Clint’s hands almost rhythmically.

“Well, I think that blue twisty slide looks like a lot of fun!” Clint bounced his knees a little. “I bet someone could so super fast down that one. What do you think, Maxie? Do you think you would go super fast or super slow down the twisty slide?”

Max tilted his head to look up at Clint’s face. “Unca Tint, I onwy go tuper fass. No going swow awowed.”

Clint laughed and kissed the forehead in front of him. “You’re so right Max, you don’t have a slow speed, do you? Want to show me how fast you can go?” Max nodded hesitantly. “Okay. I’ll stay right here and you go get to the blue twisty slide. When you get to the top, wave and I’ll time you to see just how fast you are. Sound good?”

Max crawled off his uncle’s lap and took off for the play equipment. Clint gave himself a mental high five for his creative thinking in getting his nephew to go play. The little boy completed his objective and Clint flashed him a thumbs up. He was getting ready to make up a time to tell Max when the boy was intercepted by another child. The two headed off to play together, with Max only occasionally checking to make sure Clint was still visible.

Clint was debating on whether he should steal some snacks out of Max’s bag when another parent came over to his bench and sat beside him. He gave the lady a friendly smile, but was a little out of his comfort zone in this setting, so didn’t say anything.

Thankfully, she did. “Hi! I’m Mandy, Clea’s mom. She’s the one playing with your little boy.”  
“Oh, uh, Max isn’t my, um, he’s my nephew. His daddy is sick today, so Uncle Clint to the rescue.” He could feel his face heat up as he stumbled over his words and ran a hand through his hair. Interacting with people is hard.

Mandy didn’t seem put off by his verbal bumbling though. She just smiled. “I saw you guys had some trouble when you first came in, but Max?” she looked at Clint for clarification on the name and he nodded, “Max seems to be doing much better now.”

“Yeah, he gets overwhelmed sometimes. Overstimulated. But once he gets the chance to regulate, he’s okay.” Clint watched the two happy children playing together in the foam pit.

“You handled it very well. It can get to be pretty loud in here sometimes, even for me as an adult. I can’t imagine being a little one.”

The two adults chatted back and forth while watching their two charges play together for a while before Max came running over holding Clea’s hand. “Unca Tint! Unca Tint! I gotta goooo!” the boy whined.

Clint jumped up and grabbed their bag. He had forgotten to ask Max about going potty. He grabbed up Max’s hand and looked around frantically for the bathrooms. Mandy helpfully pointed out their location and the two headed off.

They were able to make it to the potty with no accidents and came back to the bench after washing their hands. Clea was sitting beside her mom, leaning into her side. Mandy was loving brushing the little girl’s hair off her face and pressing kisses to the top of her head. Clint sat back down on the bench and Max scrambled to sit next to his new friend. He pulled his pacifier out of his mouth and let it dangle on the end of it’s clip. “Uncle Clint, my new friend Clea is hungry now.”

Clint chuckled and looked down at his nephew. “Is she now? Are you sure that Maxie isn’t the one who is hungry.”

“Nope! Clea told me.”

The girl in question looked confused while her mom just smiled.

“When did Clea tell you this, Bud? I’ve been right here this whole time and I haven’t heard her say anything.”

“Well, well, um,” Max scrunched his face, trying to work his way through the problem. “She, um, her tummy told me!” Max's face brightened as he worked out his solution. “Yeah. When we sat down, her tummy said ‘Maxie, I’m hungry!” He made little claws with his hands and used a growly voice to show what a tummy sounds like.

Clint, Mandy, and Clea laughed at the silly boy who flopped against the back of the bench, proud that he made his uncle and new friends laugh. His grin turned into a shy smile as his own tummy began growling.

“I’m pretty sure it was your tummy talking to you, Max,” Mandy said as she stood up from the bench. “How does pizza sound to you rascals?” The kids cheered. “Is that okay with you, Clint?”

“Oh. Yeah. My brother promised Max pizza today, so...yeah. That’s the plan.”

The four left the play-place and headed to the pizza restaurant conveniently located next door. They shared two pizza’s, split the bill, and made plans for Max and Clea to meet again for another play date.

Max was only slightly quieter on the trip home, less vibrating was happening, but he was still talking Clint’s ear off. Clea this and Clea that. Clint made agreeable noises every now and then but was mostly just glad his nephew had a good time and made a new friend even after his rough start. 

When they made it home, Clint had barely gotten the door unlocked when Max shoved through shouting for his daddy. Clint chased him through the house, but wasn’t fast enough to catch the boy before he slipped into the master bedroom and began regaling his daddy with his tales of the day. Clint stood in the door and watched as his older brother listened while trying not to fall asleep. 

Eventually, Max finally ran out of steam and crashed with his head resting on his daddy’s chest. Clint moved into the room at this point and managed to get Max coherent enough to walk across the hall to his own room, where he was changed into a sleep diaper and lifted into bed. Clint carefully closed the door and was about to head to the living room to finish the game he had started earlier this morning, but was stopped by his brother’s voice.

“Clint!” Clint stepped backward and stuck his head into his brother’s room. “Thanks for taking him today. It seems like he had a really good time and made a new friend. Thea?”

“Clea, but yeah. By the way, you have a playdate set with Clea and her mom, Mandy. I have all the info written down, I’ll put it on the calendar.”

“Thank you, Clint. These play dates at the play-place, aren’t always as successful as this one was. Maybe you should be the regular adult attendee,” The older male smiled and teased his younger brother.

“Oh, no way. Nice try. I’ll stick to my once in a blue moon status,” Clint grinned back. “Max did really well today. You’re doing a great job. Now, I’m going to go play video games uninterrupted for the next two hours! If you need anything text me.” He slipped away from his brother’s doorway but not before he heard “We’re doing a great job, little brother. We both are.”

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism appreciated, as always. If you feel so inclined, let me know what you think.


End file.
